The huge, historic, SS United States, cruised by Palm Beach County. Where is it headed?
The historic SS United States ocean liner cruised by Palm Beach County's coast early Wednesday, Feb. 26, on its way to Alabama for a cleaning before being sunk off the Florida Panhandle to create an artificial reef.
At nearly 1,000-feet-long, the 75-year-old ship is longer than the ill-fated Titanic, and unique for holding the speed record for crossing the Atlantic Ocean — a trip it made in just over three days, 10 hours.
The ship's top secret creation was done in a partnership between the United States and a private company to develop a "super ship" that could be part luxury liner and part weapon to be used during the Cold War. It was built just wide enough to fit through the Panama Canal with a two-foot clearance on both sides.
More: SS United States starts last voyage to its final destination – at the bottom of the Gulf
But the ship, which is distinctive for its 65-foot funnels that vented smoke and exhaust away from passengers on deck, was retired from active service in 1969 and languished at a South Philadelphia pier for nearly 30 years. A dispute between pier owners and the SS United States Conservancy meant it had to vacate its longtime resting place.
Okaloosa County bought the SS United States for $10 million in October, with plans to sink the ship to create an artificial reef off Destin-Fort Walton Beach and open an land-based museum. The ship left earlier this month for its estimated two-week journey to Mobile, Alabama.
"While this is not the outcome we originally envisioned, the ship will have a future," the conservancy wrote on its website. "The next chapter of the SS United States story will bring tens of thousands of people annually from around the world to experience her."
People may have seen the ship, widely known as "America's Flagship" off Palm Beach County's coast between 7 a.m. and noon on Wednesday.
You can track the journey to Alabama here.
Tugboats are being used to pull the SS United States because the long-retired ship's engines no longer work. It is expected to take more than a year to ready the ship for sinking, and up to an additional year to arrange the deployment, according to the conservancy.
While the exact location of the artificial reef hasn't been determined, it is expected to be about 20 nautical miles south of the Destin-Fort Walton Beach area.
The ocean liner was in service from 1952 to 1969.
It was widely known as "America's Flagship"
It was the fastest passenger ship every built and the largest ever made in the United States.
The ship still holds the transatlantic speed record, which it won on its maiden voyage. During sea trials the ship hit 44 mph. Modern cruise ships travel about 28 mph.
Famous passengers on the ship included Walt Disney, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Sean Connery, Walter Cronkite, Judy Garland, Cary Grant, Charlton Heston, Bob Hope, Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Four U.S. presidents were also passengers on the SS United States including Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy and a young Bill Clinton, who was on his way to study at Oxford.
Palm Beach Post staff writer Eddie Ritz contributed to this report.
Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate, weather, and the environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Titanic-league SS United States cruises by Palm Beach County coast
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The 61-year-old businessman who co-founded and was CEO of OceanGate, a deep-sea exploration company. Rush had faced criticism from others in the field, and his own employees about the safety of the Titan submersible. Most submersibles are made of titanium or steel – however, the hull of the Titan was made of filament-wound carbon fibre, This made the vessel lighter, and less costly, but carbon fibre was more unpredictable. The Titan was also not 'classed' by an external body or third party. Despite warnings, Rush was confident in his contraption, which made 13 successful trips to the Titanic wreckage before the ill-fated excursion in 2023. A former employee, who was not named, told the BBC: 'Rush was very level-headed, he knew what needed to be done," he said. "He went on every sub dive, he was the pilot for every single one, and that's because he trusted the safety of the sub.' The 77-year-old French sea explorer and Titanic expert had a deep love and interest in the 1912 Titanic shipwreck, to the extent he was nicknamed 'Mr. Titanic' by loved ones. Before his death, he was the director of underwater research for RMS Titanic, the company that owns the salvage rights to the storied shipwreck, and the author of the book In the Depths of the Titanic. He had previously made 35 dives towards the wreckage, and was once a decorated commander in chief in the French navy. Nargeolet was reportedly aware that the Titan was a somewhat ramshackled operation. Friends told Vanity Fair that they 'all tried to stop him' from taking part in excursions on the vessel. Somewhat nobly, he reportedly told loved ones: 'Maybe it's better if I'm out there, I can help them from doing something stupid or people getting hurt.' The 58-year-old British adventurer and businessman had a life filled with opportunity and extremes; he previously earned a pilot's license while he was studying for a degree in Cambridge, and launched the first regular business jet service to the Antarctic with his company Action Aviation. Due to his line of work, Harding regularly visited the South Pole. He accompanied Buzz Aldrin in 2016 when the former astronaut became the oldest person to reach the South Pole, age 86. A lifelong aviation buff, in 2019 Harding was one of a team of aviators that took the Guinness World Record for a circumnavigation of the Earth via the North and South Poles in a Gulfstream G650ER in 46 hours and 40 minutes. Two years later, Harding turned his attention to the deep blue seas; working alongside retired naval officer Victor Vescovo as he dived to the deepest point of the Mariana Trench – a staggering 36,000ft deep. This excursion landed him a second Guinness World Record for greatest distance covered at full ocean depth and greatest time spent at full ocean depth. Harding is survived by his wife, Linda, his two sons and two stepchildren. The family lived in Dubai. The 48-year-old British Pakistani businessman worked as a vice-chairman of the Engro Corporation and as a director of the Dawood Hercules Corporation, where he dealt with mergers and acquisitions. He gave significant amounts to charity; he was a trustee of his family's Dawood Foundation, which focused on education. Dawood also coordinated efforts to fight Covid-19 in Pakistan, as well as providing mental health support. He had a lifelong interest in the Titanic and had bought the trip on the Titan for him and his wife, Christine. The trip was then delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic – Christine then opted to give her ticket to her son, Suleman. Initially, the 19-year-old university student was not due to go on the trip. When his father, Shahzada, bought the tickets, he intended for just him and his wife to go, as Dawood was too young (the minimum age requirement for the submersible was 18.) However, with the trip being delayed due to the pandemic, and her son really wanting to go, Christine gave up her seat. Dawood was reportedly 'really excited' to be heading down to the wreckage. Per the BBC, Christine revealed her son had taken a Rubik's Cube with him because he wanted to break a world record. Suleman reportedly carried the toy everywhere and wanted to solve the puzzle below the remains of the Titanic to set a world record. Speaking of the loss, Christine said: 'We all thought 'they are just going to come up' so that shock was delayed by about 10 hours or so. There was a time … when they were supposed to be up on the surface again and when that time passed, the real shock, not shock but the worry and the not so good feelings started.' Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the victims following this tragic event. Kimberley Bond is a Multiplatform Writer for Harper's Bazaar, focusing on the arts, culture, careers and lifestyle. She previously worked as a Features Writer for Cosmopolitan UK, and has bylines at The Telegraph, The Independent and British Vogue among countless others.
